Eagle Scout Rallies Round Flagpole

LAUDERHILL - — More than $300 and four months of planning were poured into the ground when Alex Nogueiras Jr. and 14 members of Sunrise Troop 245 erected a flagpole in Westwind Park.

Lauderhill Mayor Ilene Lieberman and the City Commission honored Nogueiras last month for the project that helped earn him Eagle Scout status and beautify the park at 4550 NW 82nd Ave.

"I've lived in the city for 11 years," said Nogueiras, who lives five blocks north of the park. "Of all the parks, this is the only one that has never had a flag or a flagpole.

"We'd come by here all the time," said Alex Nogueiras Sr. "We walked around looking for it. We thought there might not be a flag, but there's got to be a flagpole."

There wasn't.

Nogueiras, a sophomore at Piper High School, contemplated other projects, but thought this one would provide the longest lasting benefit to the community. He also had to demonstrate leadership.

The younger Nogueiras organized a carwash that raised the $360 he needed to purchase the flagpole. The Home Depot in Lauderdale Lakes donated about $200 worth of concrete, bricks, and the plants used to anchor and decorate the pole.

He spent months securing permits and making adjustments to his plans. For example, he had to shorten the pole for safety reasons. Nogueiras became a Life Scout early last year and an Eagle Scout in January. The pole was erected in October.